3 NC detention officers accused of helping bond out man using fake name

Three detention officers with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office were arrested on Wednesday and accused of helping bond out a man using a fake name.

James Hunt Jr., 42, from Rowland, was arrested on March 25 and charged with possession of drugs, driving while having a revoked license, and carrying a concealed weapon at a traffic stop, according to the sheriff's office.

Authorities said James Hunt Jr. told officers that his name was Jackie Hunt, the name of his brother. He was processed at the Robeson County Detention Center by his brother, Jackie Hunt, and two other detention center officers.

He was bonded out under the false name, despite the detention officers knowing his true identity, according to the sheriff's office.

Three days later, investigators with the sheriff's office discovered that James Hunt Jr. had bonded out of jail under his brother's name.

The three detention officers — Warren Phillips, 50, from Lumberton, Tina Jones, 51, from Pembroke, and Jackie Hunt, 40, from Fairmont, — were arrested and charged with felony conspiracy to identity theft, aiding and abetting and obstruction of justice.

"It is a proven fact that I will not tolerate foolishness," Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said in a statement posted to Facebook.

The three officers are being held at the Robeson County Detention Center under a $500,000 unsecured bond.

James Hunt Jr. was arrested Saturday on charges of identity theft and resist, delay and obstruction of justice for providing false information to law enforcement officers. He was being held at the detention center under a $95,000 bond.